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'Chains we can believe in'

January 21, 2010 - Orange County Register

Home-run record holder Mark McGwire finally came clean on his steroid use in 1998, the year he broke the record. People were shocked; Sammy Sosa's face turned white as a sheet when he heard.

When A-Rod admitted to taking steroids, he was seeing Madonna. She has always had a thing for baseball players. I am told she even has an on-deck circle in her bedroom. When the news broke, she was irate. (You can always tell when Madonna is mad because her fake British accent disappears.)

So, let's sum up the past decade: We have had three presidents; started a war based on faulty intelligence; run up another $6 trillion in federal debt; socialized much of our economy; believed Obama's promise of "change" – and the only ones who told us the truth were Jose Canseco and candidate Ron Paul.

When Haiti suffered a massive

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President Barack Obama delivers remarks on financial reform in the Diplomatic Reception Room January 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. Obama announced measures to narrow the size and scope of banks and their investment activities. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

and tragic earthquake, our politicians ran to the microphones to make speeches and promises. That's what they do. They pledge more and more of our money to make themselves seem humane. What would really make them look nice would be spending their own money on the relief effort, like real Americans are doing.

Still, not a penny of federal support has officially been spent. The $100 million Obama promised is not even close to being approved. Help for Haiti so far has come from those great Americans who have volunteered and donated money and intellectual capital to help the dysfunctional nation survive. So far Americans have donated more than $250 million, or as Tiger Woods views it, divorce money.

As we saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it is the individual who makes things happen, not the government. How many times must we learn that lesson?

While the State Department dragged its heels and insisted on reams of red tape in the cases of Haitian orphans, the most vulnerable of this disaster's victims, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell chartered a plane, went to Haiti, rescued 53 children, and brought them to safety to the U.S. That's what individuals do when they step up to the plate. They act.

The most recent bright spot for the USA occurred in Massachusetts, when Republican Scott Brown won his (formerly) Democratic Senate seat in the bluest of blue states. He is being tested for steroids, but it looks like the win will stand.

The voters' message is loud and clear, but will Obama's hubris prevent him from hearing it? Political scientists have yet to cure arrogance.

Obama will rationalize the loss in Massachusetts like he always does. He will take a hard look at the situation and then blame it on Bush and bonuses paid to CEOs. In light of his agenda of growing government, his campaign slogan should have been "Chains we can believe in."

I hope that the Senate election in Massachusetts will at least slow the corrupt, backroom deals being cut by Democrats who buy votes – from their own party, no less – with our money.

It was good to see former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney campaigning for Brown. At times he even loosened his necktie, which is a big deal for Romney. He used to have a job moonlighting as a model for those pictures that come in the picture frames you buy. Not that Romney doesn't have a wild side. I heard he experimented with domestic wines back in the '70s.

So which is more believable: Mark McGwire's steroid denial, or the claim by Obama that he is going to fix things? The only jobs Obama has created, or "saved," have been for lobbyists.

And if the first speech Obama makes on a subject does not solve a problem, rest assured he will make another speech, and then another – often referencing his previous speeches. If 10 speeches do not do the trick, he will get mad and threaten, "Don't make me host a workshop on this matter!"

Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. We must heed the words of Thomas Jefferson: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have." Maybe folks are finally getting the message. Contrary to what the Democratic core has been conditioned to believe, nobody owes you anything.

I think it is about time that we stop believing in politicians and sports stars, and start believing in ourselves. As my grandfather used to tell me, "At the end of the day, the only helping hand you really have is the one at the end of your sleeve."